Texas is Awesome Liturgical Dance is Not

 

It's great to be back in Texas where there's no liturgical dance outside of Austin, just all this big sky threatening rain, yes please, and dusty roads. But maybe this angers you, maybe you want liturgical dance. Here, have a look:

Beautiful, isn't it. Not unlike a Clown Mass, on reflection. Check it out:

And they're wondering why the Church of England is dying, which it is. No wonder, the people in charge of the operation don't believe in the Faith they're paid to promote. Witness subsequent clownshow. Is there a solution? Always.

Years ago, I celebrated a wedding in rural England, just a kid, and some ne'er do wells crossed me afterwards in the churchyard, "We're from the old religion," they said, and I paused, "So you're Roman Catholics? Perhaps you like Chesterton?"

They did, curiously, and we got along just fine, despite their Fuhrer having flicked a dead rat at me over the grave of a county worthy. Regardless, solution?

Return, steadfast to the Faith, regardless of denom, and say NO to the godless NWO. I tell you kids, it's dark v. light right now. Rise to the challenge.

Your Pal,

LSP

Country Sale Barn #2

 

I tell you, punters, never a dull moment in LSPland. One minute it's off-world supermodels in Paris and the next you're gazing at an '08 Kubota, waiting for a 20 yard dumpster and getting ready for a  country barn sale.

Yes. Tools, we sell 'em by the box, then there's anchors, welding tables, tool boxes, PVC fittings, jacks, literal buckets full of shovels, axes and picks. To say nothing of scaffold, dog pens (x5), steel pipe. tin by the yard, copper pipe, power tools and on and on.  Roll up, roll up my friends.

But there's a lot of trash, hence the dumpster which was supposed to arrive at 11 am but didn't, more like 4. But hey, it got there and Jose, with a rambunctious flash of gold dentistry lowered the grey metal beast into position, "Sound like thunder!" And so it did. 

Mission accomplished, he left for Waco and left me to close up shop as mighty hawks swooped down on the fields in search of prey. Ferocious predators! Watch them glide and dive with concentrated ferocity.

Then back to the Compound, where Blue was busy sleeping and all was well with the world. Tomorrow? We shall fill that dumpster.

Your Old Country Sale Barn Pal,

LSP

PS. There's great excitement, rightly, in the country about this sale and you're all invited. It's this weekend, Saturday-Sunday. But when you turn up bear in mind, cash on the nail, no "Visa." But people using the code "LSP" get a special 10% discount. Value, eh?

Taking Care Of Business

 

It was one of those days when you drive around the country taking care of business. First stop, the good old Pick 'n Steal, aka "Shamrock Filling Station," via the Meth Shack. The shack's getting fixed up, kind of, by some entrepeneurial Mexicans. Good luck, boys.

Then the Itasca grain co-op, I like that place, followed by post offices, banks, a realtor and all of that. Productive unlike, say, our incredibly popular president's economic policy. Which is... what?

Moar tax, moar debt, but less energy independence because higher gas prices make us all richer, except that they don't. And while we're at it, let's offshore yet moar manufacturing as we open our borders to millions of unskilled migrants. At least that last part drives down wages. Good work, Millionaire Socialists.

If you're thinking this train's coming off the tracks, you might have a point and perhaps that's why people are piling into crypto. Get your cash out of the clutches of the Scylla and Charybdis of central banks and their partners in crime, our governments.

That in mind, Bitcoin's at an all time high, the Peoples' Currency, DOGE$, is testing 0.30 (c'mon pup, run!) and LRC (Loopring) is exploding on rumors of a GME (Gamestop) partnership. No kidding, that token's up >1000% ytd and doubled in value in the last day. I tell you, it's the wild west out there and fortunes are being made and lost as we speak. 

Here at the Compound we're pleased with everyone's fave and original Shiba and jaw-dropped at LRC's surge, wish Blue had hit the buy button with his paw when it was .40. But still, can't complain, the annoyingly tech protocol, making for fast, cheap, secure DEX (decentralized exchange) transactions on ethereum is riding high at over 2 bucks a coin. Way to go.

Don't invest more than you can  afford to lose, kids. Biden Admin, take note.

Your Pal,

LSP

Golden Void

 

I tell you, it's hot enough to melt porch furniture and cast it into bullets (what? Ed.), but whoever said life'd be easy? No one, but the band plays on and this mind blog's mission to document the Apocalypse continues. Steadfast.

 #artphilosophy

Golden Void,

LSP

Taking Care Of Business

 

A busy morning. Get up, feed the Blue, make hot tea, enjoy that tea on the back porch while scanning the news, say Morning Prayer, you might say "Mattins," walk to the Pick 'n Steal, observe a new iteration of the Meth Shack, get back to the Compound, answer emails and then... drive over to Tom's Tire to get your rig inspected.

You have to do it every year, the State demands it, and we must obey. But it's no big deal, just 7 bucks and an excuse to go to Montes for a delicious brisket burrito. Tasty and then some. Next stop? 

A dinosaur museum, conveniently next to the diner. It used to be a filling station and then something else, followed by something else, and something else again, amounting to yet another vacant, asset stripped country lot. But now it's a dinosaur museum. 

I ambled over, pleasantly aglow with brisket and homemade tortilla's, only to be ambushed by a fit young fella with a dinosaur T and a Ho Chi Minh, obviously a paleontologist. "What's up, man!" he asked. I looked him straight in his expensively rimless glasses and asked, right on the nail, "Is this museum open?" To be fair, it rarely is, and he said yes, step straight on in, which I did.

What a great little museum! Big fossils of the ferocious beasts that used to roam North Central Texas, and small fossils too, to say nothing of aboriginal artifacts. These, if you know where to look, which I mostly don't, can be found by the boxfull here in Hill and Bosque counties. How old are they? Good question.

Museum over, collect the rig, get it registered, go to the 1st Inconvenience Bank and then to the lake. I won't lie, it was quite chilly, only about 100*. Is it too hot to fish when your eyelids start dropping sweat on the inside of your cunningly polarized glasses? Hardly, all the more incentive to carry on regardless.

4 Blue Gill later it was time to head home, in yet another episode of being glad to be in Texas.

Your Old Pal,

LSP

Texas is Very Awesome

How can Texas be awesome when the very air itself threatens to ignite, like an air bomb? Surely this sounds more like the anteroom of Hell than anywhere good. 

Not so fast, team. Yes, it may be hot but there are benefits, such as frontier style bluffs and Patriot Barges. No one's defunding the police here because they're not stupid.

And fish. Lots of fish, even in the heat of a late August afternoon. I know this because, after visiting with the flock, I headed over to the marina for some action, and got it. 

A lot of perch, mostly small but pretty much every cast a fish, always good, and few large, ferocious, piranha style keepers, which I didn't keep. Again, wasn't in the mood to clean, beer batter and fry 'em up. Foolish, I know, tomorrow being Friday, but whatever. Next time.

Then, at the very end, something ferocious took the line. Tug! Hookset! drag out, well at least for a bit, and up came a random predator bass. Great result. Bass on, what a lot of fun. And while some say fishing's a kind of therapy for trauma, conscious or otherwise, it's also good in itself. Fast, sometimes furious aquatic action. I find this exciting, like hunting but on the water.

Mission accomplished, I headed back to the safety of the Compound and it began to rain. Yes, rain. Beautiful, and yet another reason to thank God for his glory and Texas for awesomeness.

Your Friend,

LSP

Sorry Fish, You Lose This Round

Smarting from our signature defeat against the fish the other week on the dam spillway, the team decided to have another go. To catch the fish off-guard we went to a different location, Soldier's Bluff. 

There's been times when fishing the Bluff has been simply outstanding, fast action, good fish and pretty much a catch a cast and sometimes more. No kidding, when the Bass are blitzing it's topwater frenzy and devil take the hindmost.

With that in mind we cast off into the depths and at first things didn't look good. A boat kept roaring by, surfer in tow, churning the water, frightening the fish and blasting some kind of pop music. Perhaps it was rap/r 'n b hybrid, I don't know, I'm no expert but I do know this, it was annoying and we weren't catching.

At last, the boat sped off into the vastness of Lake Whitney and we were in with a chance, perhaps. After throwing worms and their plastic imitations into the usual spots and getting nothing, we headed towards the dam.

Still nothing and then, as the sun was going down, a fierce tug at the line. Yes, fish, you're on the radar. After that it was pretty much a Bluegill every five minutes or so and many more escapees, who were happy to run off with our enticing worms and "Crappie Bites."

Regardless, it was fish on and if we'd been in the way of keeping them, dinner on too. As it was, these fierce little predators went back in the water. They lived to fight again another day.

Victory assured, we headed back in the setting sun. Burgers were on the menu and the Cadet wasted no time in dialing up Highland Regiments, piping us into the Compound.

He's inspired by the A&M Corps and ROTC. Shoot in the X Ring, kid.

Tight lines,

LSP

Fish Soldier's Bluff

Well. I didn't follow my own advice and watch Leprechaun, awesome though it is, and I didn't drink any Guinness, annoyingly. But I did go to Soldier's Bluff after Evening Prayer in search of fish.

It was a bust at first and I thought it'd stay that way. Then, as the bright sun started to go down, the fish started nibbling and then biting. Out came 5 Blue Gill and one small Bass in short order. Good result.

Apart from the excitement of catching the small but feisty fish, it was simply good to get out in the open air and enjoy the view of the lake from the bank. 

I gave my left over worms to some kids, I hope they caught something, and you can view excerpts from the adventure at, ahem, Incredible Video!

Fish on,

LSP

What is Texas?

What's it like, living in a rural farming community in Texas, where not having a pick up truck marks you as weirdly eccentric. I went for a walk to find out.

Irish Texas

Apparently it's about Ireland, which is why the local filling station's called Shamrock, or is it? The Shamrock may be Irish but it sure sells a lot of Mexican food. It's also run by Nepalese; I know this because I've asked them and we talk about the Gurkhas. Sometimes they salute me, Brit style, which is appropriate, if weird.

Dog Texas

I pondered that as I made my way back to the Compound with Blue Congressman. Why would a family from Nepal end up running a pick 'n steal in rural Texas, selling Mexican food in an Irish filling station. For that matter, why is there a Mongolian "buffet" in the town, run by real Mongolians as opposed to Mexicans? (don't eat there...) Why are people from the farthest reaches of the world coming to the Lone Star State?

Well, the answer's obvious. Because Texas is awesome.

TEXIT,

LSP

Wake Up!

You're sleepy? Look here, you bandits. The day starts at 5.

And so it did, starting with day one. By the time the sun was rising, there we were, on the way to somewhere in Texas to hunt hogs. We passed through Gustine, Blanket, Brownwood, San Angelo and weren't too far from Mexico.

Switch on, Bandits

"So whaddya do if you meet an illegal alien, kids?" Moment of silence and then, "Send him up to the Mother Ship?" Another moment of silence, "Well, I'd give them a meal and a beer. Then maybe I'd build a wall."

If You Meet The Buddha on The Road...

We set up up camp and got after the pigs. That meant climbing up into stands and scouting trails, and the result?

Therein lies another tale.

Gun Rights,

LSP

Ride On

truckers

To my mind, and I'm not alone, horse goes well with gun. It's just the way the algo works, and I was pleased to see the juniors take to both.

Miltown

They were a little nervous at first, which is no bad thing, but took to the business naturally. Our first excursion was cut short by big rain, but the kids were able to get in the saddle and be lead about. I loved the smile on the youngest's face as BeBop went into a gentle trot.

all about the hat

Next time out we visited Miltown Arabians and the weather managed, by some miracle, to stay the right side of hot. Both graduated from the round pen into the pasture and the eldest managed a few strides of canter. Well done.

Canter

A day later some friends kindly followed up a shoot, after delicious ribs, with a ride in the arena. Beautiful, well trained horses and some expert supervision. It didn't take long for the boys to move out of the round pen; the youngest was happy walking around the perimeter and the eldest wanted to go fast, so he cantered off in good style. Not bad at all for his second time out.

Faster!

I was proud of them both, though less so of myself; being over excited I charged around foolishly, which didn't earn any points. But great fun, which is what it's all about.

catch up, LSP

Must sort the kids out with horses in Calgary, but in the meanwhile -- huge thanks to VS, BE, the Munroes et al. 

walk on

Stay in the saddle and God bless,

LSP